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Williams Crew Update 11-4-14
Crew Update, I hope everyone has had a chance to catch their breath after the crazy week we had. I want to thank everyone that helped out on the SELS summit day, the bay area sailing trip, or the bear walk (or in some cases, all three). I’m sure by this point you have heard many stories about the events from your kids. The chaperones on the bay area fieldwork (Kelli, Rob, Sarah, Kim, Kimmie, and Scott) did a wonderful job battling traffic and helping out in general. I have posted the pictures of last weeks events on the crew website and on my picasa account (This link). I want to especially thank Ashley for helping organize the fieldwork. There were unforeseen challenges that arose about two weeks before the fieldwork that almost canceled the trip, but with Ashley’s help we were able to find other arrangements that made the fieldwork even better. […]
DN Oct 29, 2014
Director’s Notes Oct 29, 2014 Hi all, What a great first annual SELS Summit Day. First graders prepped all other crews for the adventure and students responded wonderfully; the solitude and reflection time at the pass was virtually silent for 15 min, and the shared thoughts of students was insightful and inspirational. Many thanks for the help driving and chaperoning, and to the Bell Crew for initiating and organizing the community building day. Electives is starting up Nov 14 and runs on Fridays from 12:45-2 until Dec 19. We are again looking for volunteers to help with the program. You can facilitate something of interest to you that would also be interesting to students; you can select your age range and number of students as well (we shoot for 8-12 students per elective). If interested in helping, please email or talk to Anna Demm (ademm@truckeecharterschool.org). We will also run two more blocks: Jan 9 – Feb 13 (skipping Jan 30 due to middle school minimum day) and Feb 27 – March 27. Volunteers are needed for all sessions. For those unfamiliar with Electives: this is a chance for parent “experts” to share with students interesting hobbies and/or skills (examples: knitting, songwriting/singing, photography, poetry, games, science activities, magic tricks, etc.). The time is meant to build community (the elective classes are mixed age), expose students to various experiences they would not usually get, and potentially build lifelong interests and skills. Staff also offer courses, so ideally there are 17-20 classes happening (thereby keeping group sizes smaller). The program only works when parents participate, so please join us. […]
Back from Fieldwork on the Coast
Crew had an amazing learning adventure on the beaches, dunes, and redwood forests! The geology of the coast gave us the opportunity to observe the effects of plate tectonics near the Mendocino Triple Junction and a perfect vantage point to discuss the cycling of water around our planet. We set up some water experiments...and then, ironically, it rained all over them! We'll set up new ones on campus this week...
The week ahead:
Math: We resume an exploration of area in our CPM textbook.
Expedition: We'll dig deeper into the water cycle and the effects of tectonic plate motion on the Earth's surface.
Literacy: Protected reading in Book Club on Monday and Tea & Treat discussion Wednesday / Writers Workshop Tuesday and Thursday with grammar Caught Ya's and informative writing.
Fix-it Friday will happen Friday morning before Community Meeting to accommodate the BearWalk - this is for crew who need to re-test on expedition learning targets.
Other Happenings:
SELS Summit Day on Tuesday - permission slips needed! We will ride the bus to the trailhead for Castle Peak that begins behind the I80 rest area. Parent drivers will bring us back to school.
McMains Crew will run this Friday's Community Meeting.Friday is the SELS BearWalk - students are reminded to wear school-appropriate costumes and comfortable walking shoes. Crew, remember to get those friends and family pledges for your laps - every cent you raise goes to your crewroom!
SELS will host a parent Math Night on November 6th - come experience the College Preparatory Math / Common Core math program to really understand the rich learning your child is experiencing. Discover the benefits of collaborative study teams and how this structure deepens your child's fundamental conceptualization of mathematical ideas.
Seaborg/Minczeski Crew Newsletter 10.23.14
Expedition News Fieldwork: Our Boca Adventure Campout earlier in the month could not have gone smoother. The second and third graders showed the Sierra norms and were very engaged with our experts. At one station, Truckee Cal Firemen discussed the recent fire at Boca and how they handle wildfires in general. They had two fire trucks and the bulldozer there for them to check out and explore! The icing on the cake was when they allowed the children to spray the fire hose. At another station, we had ice-harvesting expert Tom Macauley share his wisdom with us. His great-grandfather was a Boca ice harvester and had intriguing stories for the children. Handling the authentic ice harvesting tool was a highlight for the crew. Thank you to chaperones: Cassie Hebel, Carolyn Gallagher, Randy Ronzone, Carrie Hunter, Kerri Flaherty, Susanna and Mark Neave, and Jeff Bender. Also, thank you to Shauna Ronzone and Susanna Neave for taking the time to organize behind the scenes! Fire- In the classroom, we jumped on the opportunity to focus on wildfires, as we were stuck inside from all of the King Fire smoke! The students enjoy learning about the pros and cons of wildfire and have become quite opinionated about whether wildfires are good or evil. We also walked to Truckee Fire Station 92, next to Wild Cherries, to work with expert Paul Spencer. He shared numerous historical fires in Truckee and how they impacted the town over the years. Truckee timeline- Currently we are focusing on an overall timeline of Truckee’s history. The students are working through complex text to pull out important information that we will be using for a Celebration of Learning performance. Stay tuned for more info! […]
DN Oct 22, 2014
Director’s Notes Oct 22, 2014 Hi all, Nearing mid semester and everything is going well. Thanks again to all those helping with fieldwork, in classrooms, and behind the scenes to provide activities and events for our community. As the weather continues to cool down, please make sure your children are dressed appropriately; we continue to have students arrive under-dressed and without jackets. Odyssey of the Mind is meeting tomorrow, Thurs Oct 23 5:30-8 at ACMS. In the past we have had teams from SELS; be great to organize one for this year (there are some interested 5th graders). This is a parent run activity, and to run a team you must attend this meeting. Please contact Jess Alb with questions: jalb@ttusd.org […]
Progress reports coming home today
Williams Crew, Thanks to everyone that came to the goal-setting conferences. My hope is that your child will post these goals somewhere they will often see them, as a reminder of their main focus in school. In the spring we will meet again to review their progress on the goals and revise them. Your child will be bringing home a mid-semester progress report today. Here is a description of the grades: […]